Hotaru's Fanfiction 101
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: Hotaru decides to teach other canon characters how to write proper fanfiction... even though most DON'T write fanfiction. Various fandoms... will be noted on the top of each chapter, characters at the bottom...
1. Lesson 1: Disclaimers

_Disclaimer – I don't own Gauken Alice, X-men Evolution, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, One Piece, Bratz, Barbie, Heroes and Horseland._

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**Fanfiction 101  
Taught by Imai Hotaru  
Lesson 1: Disclaimers**

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As one walks into the room, they see down into what could be called a bevel in the classroom. The whole room was made of tiered rows leading to the bottom, where it flattened out and a nice sized wooden stage was standing. On each of the tiers were rows of desks for the students to sit in with big comfortable seats. On the stage was a pier was a podium that the instructor could use and behind them was a nice pull down screen.

Into the room walked the students and the teacher. She went and stood behind the podium, pulling up a soap box to the podium. She had purple hair cut into a bowl cut and a slightly vacant look in her violet eyes, but her looks should not deceive, she was actually very smart. The girl nodded her head. "Well, I should be as I have the Alice of Invention. That means I can invent really useful inventions, or really dumb inventions. I prefer creating really dumb and useless inventions because it drives people nuts… that or black mailing them."

"May I ask why exactly we are doing this?" asked a boy with brown hair said. "I mean… most of us aren't fanfic writers and all of us are actual characters from the different fandoms that are used for fanfic writing."

The girl narrowed her eyes at the boy with the long visor. "Thank you Mr. Summers. I am so glad that you are so astute about this."

"I still don't get why it is that we're doing this or how you know my name…" the boy said.

"Go ahead and shoot laser beams from your eyes," the girl laughed… as much as she ever did, but it was obvious she found the situation quite humorous. "Either I just know things because the author wants me too or it is because I have all your records. If I was an evil scientist, this is about the time I would be laughing an evil laugh… but I am not and it doesn't fit my personality."

"Well, it fits mine… and the author had the insight to stick me into this chapter even though she'll probably never write anything for my fandom, but I still make a good gag character for running certain ideas and things across to the reader," said a girl with short hair and nice yellow colored ribbon in her hair. She suddenly burst out laughing completely sporadically.

"And who's she?" the boy asked.

"Her name is Haruhi Suzumiya… she is a very interesting subject," Hotaru commented. "She wasn't supposed to show up until a later lesson though."

"I wanted to show up now and I do what I want," the girl smiled.

"I can tell… though no matter what rules apply in your fandom, the author can kick you out of here if she so wants too," Hotaru commented.

"Oh, I know… she needed the evil laugh though because you couldn't do it and she's trying to keep this as humorous as possible," the girl shrugged. She then waved her hand. "Do continue on with this lesson… I am hoping to meet aliens, esurpers and timetravlers here."

"I am seriously not going to ask," the boy said. "Why do I think this is going to be more insane then the Brotherhood…"

"Brotherhood?" the first girl commented.

"Brotherhood of mutants more likely," the boy muttered.

"Oh… well… I _really _need to add that to my list to look out for…" the girl commented, causing the boy to slap his head.

"Now… on to the lesson in class," the girl on the podium stated. "My name is Hotaru. I was selected to be the teacher for this course because I have a knack for breaking the forth wall in my fandom."

"Cool…" the girl with the yellow ribbon said.

"The lesson today is, why do we use disclaimers in fanfiction," the purple headed girl commented.

Suddenly, a boy with a straw hat's arms shot up into the air… way up into the air, as if his arm was made of rubber. In fact, his arm was made of rubber. "I write fanfiction and I don't use disclaimers!"

"Thank you Monkey D. Luffy," Hotaru commented.

"You write fanfiction Luffy?" a man with green hair commented.

"Well… duh… it fits my personality… I love doing completely random things with other fandoms… like making them like us and us like them… if you know what I mean…" the boy laughed.

"No… I don't get it," the man said.

"He has a sword in his mouth… I've got to get one of the S.O.S. brigade to do that," Haruhi laughed.

"Zoro always does that…" the rubber boy smiled.

"One of the biggest reasons that we use a disclaimer is that it is a way to avoid copyright infringement problems," Hotaru commented. "Jade… can you explain copyright to us?"

"How come I have to explain copyright?" the girl with black hair and big eyes.

"Because your fandom Bratz was hit by the Barbie fandom for copyright infringement, or something like that," Hotaru commented.

"All right… fine… copyright infringement is where you take something and claim that it is yours, but it really isn't. A disclaimer protects one from this, but a fanfic site does not. It still doesn't stop people from being sue happy, that's for sure…"

"Well… from what I hear… it was justified," Haruhi commented. "I mean… the guys were working at the company that made the Barbie fandom… and the designs were too similar to the designs that they were coming out later for the Barbie… the concept designs that is…"

"Thanks… she likes chaos… doesn't she…" Jade sighed. "I am so not going to like it if come January two thousand nine we really do get pulled from the shelves. If we do girls, it isn't your fault… you were great fans… blame the guys who supposedly happened to cause a whole copyright issue case come up…"

"Hold on…" Scott commented. "The Bratz can be seen as a completely different fandom… so what happens if one based a fanfic on a fandom, but comes out with similar work that isn't recognizable as the original fandom at all… like comparing us X-men to Heroes…"

"That is exactly like comparing X-men to Heroes… Heroes could be considered a fanfic of X-men, but it can not be called that, as it has created its own fandom." Hotaru commented and pulled up a screen of the sister site. "If it is not recognizable as the original, it is original fiction, not original fanfiction and needs to go on the sister site."

"Ohh… so, a disclaimer also helps to tell original work from real fanfiction!" Luffy commented.

"Yes… and when you are in the miscellaneous or crossover category that means that one can also identify the fandoms that are within it. For example, this author has to use disclaimers in possibly every single chapter as there are going to be different characters each chapter, so this is one of the fanfics she will actually need to quite possibly use one for every chapter. One only needs to use them if one has a new fandom or they are as sporadic as this one."

"Oh… and it also gives credit where credit is due!" a girl with a Hispanic accent said. She had a book in front of her about horses.

"Thank you Alma," Hotaru nodded her head. "I think that covers why fanfic author's use disclaimers. Class is dismissed."

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Author's note: Character list…

_Hotaru – Gauken Alice – For her breaking of the forth wall… she is the only one I won't repeat in other chapters…  
Cyclops/Scott Summers – X-men Evolution – For the straight laced personality_

_Haruhi Suzumiya – Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya – For the evil laugh and the randomness  
Luffy & Zoro – One Piece – For the randomness  
Jade – Bratz – Because of the recent lawsuit  
Alma – Horseland – Because Alma is a reader and she had a great respect thus for the creators of the fandoms… I was trying to go for a writer but I couldn't think of one from the fandoms I know…_


	2. Lesson 2: Having a Plan

_Disclaimer – I don't own Gauken Alice, , Harry Potter, Ruroni Kenshin, Trigun, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star and Avatar the Last Air Bender._

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Fanfiction 101  
Taught by Imai Hotaru  
Lesson 2: Having a Plan

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Hotaru stood on her soapbox, ready for her next class meeting. The people filed into the classroom. When they got in, the purple haired girl spoke up. "I would like to say I have no plan on where to go for this class meeting, but fact is… I do. That is the whole point of this class… knowing where one is going with their fanfic work. What are some fanfics that the author tends to not have a plan on where they are going."

"How about the cookie cutter romances," a boy with skunk colored hair spoke up. He wore a black shirt, a red vest and camo pants. "Do you know how many romantic plots fanfic authors have stuck me into with both cannon characters and OC's? Too many for me to count."

"You mean that the author of this fanfic can count," Hotaru commented. "But thank you for the impute Chaud. I am quite sure that a good deal of people think that cookie cutter romances need more then just... the idea of romance."

"Well why wouldn't we?" a girl with bushy hair spoke up. "I mean… the times I get stuck with Draco Malfoy in those romances are the worst… I can never tell why I am in a relationship with him. I mean, the whole idea seems to stick me, Hermione Granger together with him because we seem to be their favorite characters… there is no rhyme or reason for how we got there."

"Here here," Chaud commented. "That's that way with the ones that pair me with Maylu… the non-cookie cutter ones figure out actually how to break up the canon pairing with Lan so that she can be with me… though personally… he is one of my good friends… so please if you do the pairing, treat him with respect."

"We'll get to character bashing later," Hotaru commented.

"The thing I also don't like about cookie cutter romances is the fact that almost every single one is the same old story… one has to just change the names of places and people and then… magic… you've got a different fanfic that can very likely be for a different fandom… they could at least add in enough detail to make it seem that we are in the place." Hermione commented. "And… make sure that the pairing makes sense."

"What about the ones that make it so that you're paired up later with no build up," asked a random student?

"It's the author's nameless OC!" Chaud commented. "Wonderful… she couldn't think of a character to ask the question."

"Well… it worked in quite fine… typically those are fine… they are written with the idea of what if they had gotten together, not the idea of they should be together… I mean, the idea that we should be together… I mean… me and Draco… not in a thousand years, unless it is well written circumstances." Hermione commented.

"Smeargle wants to talk about the having characters fall into the authors world fanfics!" said a wrinkled, old… thing… in a loin cloth.

"Yes… most of those that end up being about characters falling into the author's world end up having no plot what so ever to them. They are just completely random and can go on for chapters upon chapters," said a man with blond hair.

"Are you Cho the Sword Hunter from Ruroni Kenshin?" Chaud asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No… I'm Vash the Stampede from Trigun," the man said.

"Anyways… Smeagle wonders why nobody put Smeagle into their world and always puts Elf boy into it…" the thing muttered.

"Uhh… that would be because you have no rabid fans," Vash commented. "Be glad that you don't actually have them."

"How about the times that there are supposed to be no plot… like in my fandom," Haruhi piped up.

"Oh… your back…" the nameless OC commented.

"Well, I am useful in this chapter too…" the girl laughed, her yellow ribbon bouncing, then she laughed evilly. "You one the other hand are in every chapter, but are only going to be mentioned in the few that you're needed.

"Bummer… and the author couldn't think to give me a name," the nameless said.

"That's because if she gives you a name, then she'll need to use you in another fanfic… your not that important, except as some nameless character," Chaud commented.

"Anyways… my fandom is random… yet there is an overall plot or idea… but there are some that are completely random,"

"Like me and my friends talking about the best ways to eat food. We do that a lot in Lucky Star that is completely random…" a girl said.

"Remind me to come talk food with you Izumi," Hotaru commented.

"I will… though the author isn't fond of my Fandom… it is to random for her… but perhaps someone else would like it… there are tons of mixed reviews there."

"I don't like the fanfics that involve me and my friends and there seems to be no ending… just an idea," said a boy with a very odd hair cut. He stuck out his thumbs. "My name is Sokka by the way… I'm from the Avatar: The Last Airbender Fandom!"

"Do you know what makes fans really upset…" Vash commented. "It is seeing a really good fanfic go to waste after two to three years of no update… and it seems the author has completely abandoned the site. Not updating is one thing, but not knowing where one is going or quitting is completely another… and hopefully it isn't for some really bad reason or another."

"Speaking of fandoms… ever get those crossovers Smeargle that everyone does the same thing… like turning me or Harry into Elves… and it is just like all the others… it is best not to ask about that. But really… it is bad enough turning people from the author's world into elves without rhyme or reason… it is worse with canon characters from other fandoms."

"Smeagle doesn't understand…" the little guy commented.

"Well… the plot is going no where now," Hotaru commented. "Which is the whole point of this fanfic… making sure that one's plot actually goes somewhere… even if it is as random as the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya."

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Author's note: Character list…

_Chaud Blaze/Enzan Ijuin – – It was with him that I found some of the first cookie cutter romance fics…  
Hermione Granger – Harry Potter – I also found a bunch of cookie cutter romance fics for her and Draco Malfoy… _

_Haruhi Suzumiya – Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya – For the evil laugh and the randomness… but it actually fit in this time…  
Smeagle – Lord of the Rings – First, the Lord of the Rings fandom was where I first found the fall into our world fanfics. Second… they are typically done by Legolas fangirls… thus I picked Smeagle… to give poor Legolas a break.  
Vash the Stampede – Trigun – For the randomness that ended up fitting.  
Izumi – Lucky Star – Not one of my favorite Animes… couldn't get into it, but her Anime is an example of how random some fanfics can get… and have no plot… but for good reason… that is the whole point of them…_


	3. Lesson 3: Formatting

_Disclaimer – I don't own Gauken Alice, Digimon, Brats of the Lost Nebula or Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya_

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**Fanfiction 101  
Taught by Imai Hotaru  
Lesson 3: Formatting**

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Hotaru pulled up a screen of examples of bad formatting for the class to discuss, not to mention some good strategies and why they were best to be used. A boy with red hair was sulking. "Why exactly is it that certain characters have been chosen… I mean… this has nothing to do with data formatting."

"Izzy… you're just mad that you're not as smart as me," the girl laughed… sort of.

"We could have an inventing contest," said a boy with orange tinged skin. "I really want to be able to try my hand at testing my skills against another inventor."

"Nice Duncan… why am I the only one here who isn't a tech freak?" said a boy with blue skin… and a horn on his head.

"That would be… Rile buddy, because they needed somebody to introduce me," Duncan smiled.

"An alien is here… why isn't Haruhi here?" asked the nameless OC. "And I'm still nameless!"

"Onto today's subject… formatting!" the girl smiled… sort of. "What is one of the biggest formatting problems that writers can face when writing fanfiction?"

"Most…" Duncan started. "Forget that web documents and word documents don't end up the same. Most problems happen to be with fonts."

"Do you know how hard it is to read something that's font is all bold in the main part of it?" Rile spoke up.

"And that's the other reason you're here… the tech geeks note the technical problems while the jocks notice things like that," the orange yellow alien smiled.

"Thanks a lot…" the blue guy muttered.

"Anyways… even I know that when designing a web page, one doesn't always have the options of doing anything and everything. The web designs that are successful are the ones that are readable… so the biggest point for formatting fanfiction is to edit it so that it is readable for what ever site it is on." Izzy commented.

"Any more lame impute?" Rile snorted.

"Yeah… like when designing a webpage, one can't use colors and stuff that blend together… expesully if they are only a few shades away from each other… it isn't readable. One also has to make sure what ever it is looks good." The red head commented.

"Well… that was a short lesson, but I think that raps it up," Hotaru commented.

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Author's note: Character list…

_Izzy – Digimon –He's a tech geek  
Duncan & Rile – Brats of the Lost Nebula – Duncan is yet another tech geek… Rile is the jock type who tends to be egocentric. It fit for this…_

_Note: I will be updating this when I can… if you guys have any impute for it, please feel free to impute… or if you want a topic to have something added to it, or a certain problem in fanfiction to be covered… so long as it is a fandom I know, I will take it into concideration. And yes... I know this was short... but if I made it go any furthur... the chapter would have been mondo lame!_


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